The Ground Floor: Dining is more than eating for NewBo business

CEDAR RAPIDS — The owner of a new Cedar Rapids kitchen boutique admits she isn't much of a cook. Instead, as a friend once told her, she is all about the 'delight' in dining.

'Cooks put a lot of effort into what they make to get the taste and the seasonings just right,' Beverly Blasingame said. 'My focus is how it looks when it gets to the table.'

Blasingame's shop, Village Table, opened March 30 as a permanent vendor at NewBo City Market. The business specializes in global and American artisan-made kitchen and tableware, offering such items as hand-painted ceramic dishes, hand-carved wooden serving pieces and hand-woven table linens.

'They are things that bring beauty to the dining experience,' Blasingame said. 'It doesn't take much to add that dimension — just a few beautiful, handmade things with stories behind them.'

Although Village Table is new, Blasingame is not new to retail or to NewBo City Market. In 2013, she opened Eclipse Trading Post, a fair trade gift shop, at the market.

She later relocated the business to Iowa City and then to Marion before closing it on March 26.

Blasingame said her new business may have a different emphasis on kitchen and tableware than the old, but its mission is the same — to promote artisan entrepreneurship and economic opportunities that bring people out of poverty.

'My intent is to help global artisans — especially women — get paid a sustainable wage for their work,' she said. 'I work with the fair traders who work with the artisans to bring their things to market.'

One such fair trade organization is Global Mamas, which aims to bring prosperity to African women and their families. Village Table carries a line of Global Mama aprons handmade by women in Ghana using recycled flour sacks.

'I look for stories and messages to go with the purchase,' Blasingame said. 'I look at the principles of the companies and choose those that advance women, apply fair-trade principles, are earth-friendly or give back in some way.'

While Village Table has a distinct global flair, several of its offerings are made closer to home. Customers to the shop will find such items as soy candles from Bright Endeavors, a Chicago-based organization that teaches job skills to young single mothers, and dry soup mixes from Women's Bean Project, a Denver-based organization that provides job training for women overcoming past criminal convictions, addictions or domestic violence.

'In the long-term, I would love to work with local community organizations to see how we can team up and do something similar here,' Blasingame said.

Blasingame said she chose to return to NewBo City Market with her new business because she believed the shop was a good match for the market.

'The market is a gathering place just like the table is a gathering place,' she said. 'It's about the delight.'

[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"]AT A GLANCE

Owner: Beverly Blasingame

Business: Village Table

Address: 1100 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

Telephone: (319) 400-6854

Website: www.villagetableshop.com

Know a new business that would make a good 'Ground Floor'? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com